Subclinical Infections of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Anaplasma bovis in Dogs from Ibaraki, Japan

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases Vol. 72; no. 3; pp. 168 - 172
• Main Authors: Fukui, Yuichi, Inokuma, Hisashi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases Editorial Committee 2019; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: Anaplasma; Anaplasma bovis; Anaplasma phagocytophilum; Antibodies; Bacteria; Dogs; Immunofluorescence; Japan; Peripheral blood; Phylogeny; Polymerase chain reaction; rRNA 16S; subclinical infection; Japan; Anaplasma phagocytophilum; subclinical infection; Japan; Anaplasma bovis
• ISSN: 1344-6304; 1884-2836; 1884-2836
• DOI: 10.7883/yoken.JJID.2018.470

We evaluated the prevalence of Anaplasma infection in 332 dogs from Ibaraki, Japan, using serological and molecular methods. An immunofluorescence antibody assay against Anaplasma phagocytophilum indicated that 7 of the 328 serum samples tested (2.1%) were positive for A. phagocytophilum. Screening by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis demonstrated that 8 of the 331 peripheral blood samples tested (2.4%) were positive for Anaplasmataceae. Phylogenetic analysis of the partial 16S rRNA sequence of the PCR amplicons revealed that 6 sequences were most similar to the 16S rRNA sequence of a Wolbachia sp., and the remaining 2 to A. bovis. Further analysis by A. phagocytophilum-specific nested PCR demonstrated that 1 dog infected with A. bovis was also positive for A. phagocytophilum. This is the first study to report the dual infection of a dog in Japan with A. bovis and A. phagocytophilum.